"Google has revealed that it has no plans to develop dedicated apps for Windows 8 or Windows Phone 8 for its business app products such as Gmail or Drive." Product management director for Google Apps, Clay Bavor, told V3 that Google "will go where the users are but they are not on Windows Phone or Windows 8". Ouch - but for now, hard to argue with.

Microsoft has to "monetize" on android because it has no choice, as it was almost squeezed out from that market. If Apple and Microsoft smartphone market shares were switched, their roles would be switched as well.

Microsoft has no problem acting like an 800lb gorilla in those markets where it is the 800lb gorilla.

Has Microsoft ever aggressively shut a competitor out of the market using patents before? I don't think they have, their Intellectual Property licensing program is pretty extensive, and has always been.

I'm not sure its because of the position their in, considering that Android encroaches not just on Windows Phone, but on Windows. If it were really about going thermonuclear, so to speak, you'd see a lot more of Apple in Microsoft.

I think Microsoft realizes that'd be a zero sum game though, and is much happier turning Android into another revenue stream. Its the easiest billion dollars they ever made, I bet.